


not my nightmare

by Keira_63



Series: Klaroline One-Shots [11]
Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: AU, AU of episode 3x21, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caroline has a realisation, Episode: s03e21 Before Sunset, F/M, Klaroline, Klaus does not appreciate people trying to desiccate him, Klaus is not Caroline's nightmare, Spoilers up to 3x21, about Klaus and his feelings for her, and that those feelings aren’t going away, minor Salvatore and Elena-bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24977578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keira_63/pseuds/Keira_63
Summary: Klaus doesn’t take kindly to the attempt to desiccate him, but Caroline realises he's not her nightmare.AU 3x21.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes & Klaus Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Series: Klaroline One-Shots [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1014627
Comments: 28
Kudos: 237





	not my nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries - the original books were written by L J Smith and the TV show was developed by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson. This story is the product of their characters and world and my imagination.

_There’s a hand around her mouth. She panics, terrified that Alaric has caught up to her._

_“Shh, it’s ok, it’s ok. It’s me. It’s ok, you’re safe.”_

_Klaus’ voice. She relaxes slightly. Klaus isn’t the monster she’s scared of, not this time._

_“We’ll save Elena,” he whispers to her, “you go straight home, you stay inside, do you understand?”_

_He spins her round when she doesn’t respond immediately, and his tone is urgent now, “do you understand me?”_

_She nods, “thank you.”_

* * *

Caroline is exhausted.

She barely manages to force herself into the shower to wash the blood and remaining vervain from her skin and then all she wants to do is lie down and sleep for days.

Physically, her body still aches and the redness on her skin from the vervain hasn’t yet gone completely. She knows from previous experience that there will be phantom pains too, later on.

“Something to look forward to,” she mutters sarcastically to herself.

Mentally, she’s just so tired of being hurt. She doesn’t want to be strong anymore, to hide her pain because everyone is so wrapped up in Elena that they don’t have time to care about anyone else.

She just wants to sleep and not worry about Alaric or have nightmares where she wakes up screaming. She doesn’t want to think about all the threats that there are in her small town alone, and she really wants to avoid remembering Klaus and how he helped her … how he was so gentle with her.

Klaus is an evil psychopath and he shouldn’t be saving her.

But he _did_ save her and she can’t forget that. Sometimes she can’t help but like Klaus – he often shows a different side around her, something other than the immortal monster, and he truly seems to care.

He makes her feel like she’s special in a way very few others ever have.

However, she needs to keep in mind that Klaus is dangerous and deadly. He’s out to get her friends and she has to remember that no matter how many drawings or dresses or bracelets or pretty words he offers her, he’s still the Original Hybrid, capable of snapping her like a twig if angered.

She’s loyal to her friends. She can’t betray them.

Her phone rings just as she has secured the towel around her body, and she picks it up quickly because it’s Elena calling and any news she has about Alaric is vital.

“Hi Elena, what’s hap–”

“You have to come over to the Boarding House now, Care,” Elena interrupts frantically, “we tried to desiccate Klaus but it didn’t work and now he’s running around somewhere probably planning on killing us all. He’s got an invitation to your house, Care – you have to get out.”

Dread wars with irritation that they’ve gone ahead with another idiotic plan to kill Klaus at a time when the Original Hybrid could actually be the key to defeating Alaric.

“What were you thinking Elena! We need Klaus to help against Alaric. Why didn’t you tell me what you were going to do – I would have talked some sense into you.”

“Damon said –” Elena begins, but Caroline cuts her off as she heads out of the bathroom and into her room, “Damon’s a moron and he needs to use what little brains he has more …”

She trails off there, as she turns on the light in her room. Because sitting on her bed, with blood all over him and a dark smirk on his face, is Klaus.

Klaus is in her room. Klaus, who her friends have just attempted to put down. Klaus, who is undoubtedly furious.

Her eyes dart around the room, automatically looking for an escape. But Klaus is faster and stronger than she is. She won’t get out and she doubts he’ll be pleased if he has to chase her.

So, she stays where she is.

Her hands tremble slightly. She doesn’t know what to do. She can hear Elena calling to her but she can’t bring herself to speak.

In a moment Klaus flashes over to her and plucks the phone from her slack grip.

“Caroline can’t talk at the moment, Elena,” he says, “she’s a little busy right now. Try again later, there’s a good girl.”

He hangs up to the sound of Elena’s worried cries and steps back to survey Caroline.

There is a heated look in his eyes as he notes she is clad only in a towel and she’s really starting to wish she’d gotten dressed in the bathroom.

She knows lust when she sees it and she can’t help but blush. She’s been in public wearing less, for pool parties and car-washes, but Klaus has a way of making her feel naked under his gaze.

She’ll admit that she feels some pleasure too. She can’t help but enjoy the fact that the thousand year old Original Hybrid fancies her. For a girl who always seems to fall short in everyone’s eyes when compared to Elena, Klaus’ interest is rather intoxicating.

But now is not the moment for that, and it really isn’t the time to be half-naked in front of a clearly murderous Klaus.

“I didn’t know,” she blurts out, nervous and very much not wanting to die wearing only a towel, “I came straight home, like you told me to. I didn’t realise what they’d try to do.”

It feels a bit like she’s throwing her friends under the bus, but she’s just so shocked by what they’ve tried to do that she can’t bring herself to defend them like she normally would.

Klaus is their best hope of subduing Alaric and, with her skin still tingling from the effects of the vervain, Caroline is well aware that, thanks to Esther’s enhancements, Alaric is a dangerous opponent.

Klaus takes one of her hands, stroking the inside of her wrist gently, “hush sweetheart, it’s alright. I heard the beginning of your conversation with the doppelganger and I’m very glad you weren’t foolish enough to get involved. Your friends, however …”

“Don’t hurt them,” she insists, “they’re just worried about Elena.”

That’s always the case, of course. It’s cynical but Caroline often wonders if any of them would do nearly as much for her if she was in danger.

She has the feeling that they wouldn’t – she remembers how, when she was turned, Bonnie (who is supposed to be her best friend) threatened to stake her if she hurt anyone, how Elena forces Damon’s company on her without even thinking that it might bother Caroline, how Stefan’s friendship is so fickle, and how Damon … well she’s always been expendable to Damon.

“You’ve got a warm, loyal heart, Caroline,” Klaus says, “I wonder, do your friends appreciate that? Or do they take advantage?”

Caroline scowls, trying to hide the hurt in her eyes. His words hit a little too close to home but she doesn’t want to let him know that.

If Klaus finds a weakness in her armour then he will dig and dig until he’s under her skin and he’s discovered every one of her secrets.

“They’re my friends,” she reminds him, “I’m not going to abandon them.”

“Friends content to use you as a distraction, sweetheart? It’s a dangerous thing to give a monster like me something fascinating. I’m not one to let go easily.”

She shivers at his words. She’s never fully thought about it before now, that Klaus might actually consider her as more than just a distraction. She’s known the whole time that he sees through her act – he’s a thousand years old and she’s not stupid enough to think she can fool him – but she’s always thought that he allows it only because it amuses him.

The possessiveness in his voice suggests something else. And she realises that the game they’ve been playing is a two-way street – perhaps he is interested in her, but in turn she cannot help but be intrigued by him.

The little bits he gives up of himself – the artist, the traveller, the man who listens just because he wants to know what she has to say – all chip away at her defences and make her realise that, somewhere along the way, she’s started to care.

And isn’t that a terrifying thought. Klaus isn’t safe like Matt, or familiar like Tyler. Klaus is the supernatural world’s nightmare and the idea of being attached to someone like that is a bit more than she sometimes feels she can handle.

“It won’t dull, Caroline,” Klaus says as she watches him warily, “time is not an issue for me, nor will it be for you. And though there have been many affections in my life, all fleeting save my family, I find there is something different about you. A baby vampire with a spine of steel, a stubborn will and a loyalty I find myself craving.”

He tugs her close, and she is very aware of his body so close to her own, of the fact that she is still wearing only a damn towel, and of his bloody hands leaving red handprints on her arms.

“It’s not what your friends intended, I wager, and not what you imagined. I know you feel it, though, even if you do insist on fighting against it.”

“Attraction isn’t everything,” she mutters, “and you’re, like, the devil on earth.”

He looks as her with an amused smile, seemingly not at all offended by her description of him, “if only it were attraction, love. I’ve never had a problem with ruining beauty or killing a pretty face. But we both know you’re different, Caroline, a weakness I never expected to allow myself.”

“If you leave me alone then you won’t have a weakness anymore.”

The words come out more as what her friends would expect her to say, and what she probably _should_ say. She ignores the part of her that knows she would miss the little moments that have shown her a different side to Klaus.

He laughs, though there is a darkness to the sound, “perhaps it would be easier to pull your heart right out of your chest. I’ll admit I thought about it, when all your sunshine smile had done was tug a little on my long-dead heart. But it’s too late now, sweetheart, I can’t quite shake you … and I’m afraid we’re both going to have to live with the consequences of that.”

Caroline’s eyes widen.

It’s all a bit too real. Before, she could just tell herself that she was playing a part with Klaus, for the sake of her friends. Now, however, she has to accept that it hasn’t all been playing pretend. Klaus clearly seems to think he has actual feelings for her. And she … well she isn’t nearly as indifferent to him as she likes to believe.

“No, no, no,” she whispers, and when he loosens his hold on her she flashes away from him to stand on the other side of the room, towel still clutched around her as she begins to panic, “you don’t get to say that. You’re Klaus Mikaelson, you don’t care about a baby vampire from a tiny town.”

“Denial won’t help you, Caroline,” he says.

He looks at her like she is something precious, in a way she doesn’t think anyone has ever looked at her.

Caroline shakes her head, “you killed Elena’s Aunt Jenna. You want to murder all my friends. And I … I’m just a distraction.”

It’s like she told Bonnie, she’s never the one. Always the back-up, the second choice, living forever in perfect Elena’s shadow.

Klaus’ eyes bore into her, like he is looking straight into her soul, “oh Caroline, you are far more than that. As I said, it is a rare thing for me to truly care, and when I do I’m not fickle.”

Caroline thinks of Klaus’ family, often carted around in coffins to keep them safe as much as to keep them under his control.

“Forever is a long time,” she says quietly, “and you can’t just stick a white oak stake in me to keep me quiet when you get bored.”

He walks towards her at human pace, and she wonders what it says about her that she doesn’t even try to move away.

“I’ll never bore of you, love. It will take me an eternity to catalogue every expression, every freckle across your skin, every variation of your smile.”

He reaches out a drags his fingers across her shoulder, the sensation and the smell of the blood he leaves behind on her skin making her gasp slightly, “every delicious sound you can make.”

“Klaus,” she warns, and he steps back with a good-natured but sinful smirk.

“Don’t try and tell me what to value, Caroline,” he tells her, “ _I_ know your worth, even if others do not.”

“Now,” he flashes over to her bed and sits down, “I believe we need to discuss what to do about those so-called friends of yours.”

Oh God, her friends.

They’re out there panicking, probably injured considering the blood all over Klaus. All targets of Klaus’ rage.

“I imagine you’re going to request that I leave them be,” Klaus continues.

“They didn’t actually manage to desiccate you,” she reminds him.

He shakes his head, “I told you, sweetheart, choices have consequences. They made their choice, although their attempt did not succeed. I have not survived this long by letting all those who try to kill me go free.”

Caroline wonders what he might say if she asks him to leave her friends alone, as a favour or a gesture or a present of sorts.

She weighs that option in her mind. He might spare some if she asks, but probably not all.

Besides, she isn’t sure she wants to do that. At the beginning she didn’t mind flirting a little to help her friends – Klaus was the enemy after all, and she was just doing what she could in their battle against the Original Hybrid. Now, though, things are different, not so black and white.

She wants to save her friends, but there is also a small part of her that wants to build something with Klaus separate to all the Mystic Falls drama, untainted by the games they have been playing.

She doesn’t want to feel like she’s selling herself anymore. Maybe there is something noble in it when it is to save her friends, but she still doesn’t want to spend years with Damon and the others throwing her at Klaus to try and solve their problems. She deserves better than that.

“What about a bargain,” she suggests, wondering if she has found a solution to her problem, “what if I can persuade Elena to donate blood for your hybrids?”

It is easier said than done, of course. The Salvatores are likely to fight her every step of the way, and Elena probably will as well, since she sometimes seems to have no sense of self-preservation. Urgh, Caroline can almost picture sainted Elena’s speech about how she doesn’t want to live her life under Klaus’ shadow (even if it could save everyone).

Her life is a teen soap opera sometimes and while the Caroline of two years ago might have thrived on that, now she just hates it.

“Forgive me, sweetheart,” Klaus says with a sceptical look, “if I don’t trust that the doppelganger will be wise enough to accept such a generous deal.”

“Well the Salvatores might be a problem,” she admits, “but I can probably work around them and persuade Elena.”

Klaus sighs, as if he’d rather just kill everyone and get it over with. Sometimes she wonders why he hasn’t done that already, since she knows he’s certainly capable of it, but maybe he just likes to entertain himself with games.

“The doppelganger donates blood once a month for the rest of her life, and I will provide some guards to ensure her safety. If the Salvatores or any of your other friends attempt to interfere in this, or to work against me, then I will ensure their deaths are drawn-out and painful. As a favour to _you_ , Caroline, I will allow a week for my offer to be accepted, otherwise I will have to take more … drastic measures.”

It isn’t a bad situation, really. There is the potential for everyone to stay alive, though Caroline has her doubts about Damon – the idiot is likely to do something stupid soon enough (not that she would mourn him much, if it came to that).

“Right,” she says, “I’ll get on that as soon as I’m, you know, dressed.”

His eyes drop down as if he has forgotten until now that she’s only in a towel (and yeah, like she’s buying _that_ for a second).

“I can wait,” he says, the corners of his mouth twitching with mirth.

It’s funny, how they can go from serious deadlines to casual flirting at the drop of a hat. That should be more concerning, really.

“Get out, Klaus,” she mutters, “I’ll call Elena.”

“I look forward to hearing from you,” he says, grabbing her phone from where he’d tossed it earlier and quickly entering what she assumes is his number.

He moves towards the window, having clearly decided that walking out the door is too pedestrian for him.

He turns back to look at her, “we’ll have a chat, you and I, when all this is over. I think we need to discuss our relationship some more, away from any other distractions.”

She’s about to ask ‘what relationship?’ but she stops herself. As much as she hates to admit it, he has a point. It isn’t just about playing Klaus-bait anymore and there’s no use pretending otherwise.

“Fine, sure,” she says, suddenly remembering how tired she is, “after I persuade Elena, and after I’ve slept for, like, two days.”

His eyes soften with understanding. Their conversation has almost distracted her from earlier events, but she’s starting to feel twinges of pain again and she just wants to sleep.

“Goodnight, love,” he says as he climbs out of the window, “I’ll deal with Alaric, I promise.”

Reassurance from a monster, how odd.

But, like she thought earlier, Klaus isn’t her nightmare, not now.

She sleeps deeply that night, dreaming of Klaus’ soft reassurances that she is safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
